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e Birds and the Bird Man 

BY 

MARY MONGURE PARKER 

'V 

Corer Design by J. E. Phillips 


Published by 

LAURA WILLOUGHBY GREENE 
167 West Monroe St. 
CHICAGO 






Copyright 1919 

By MARY MONCURE PARKER 


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MAR 20 1919 

©C1.A513923 


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PREFACE 


The author takes great pleasure in 
dedicating this first edition of “The 
Birds and the Bird Man,” a story for 
children, to the South Side Crippled 
Children’s Aid. 


“THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN.” 
By Mary Moncure Parker. 


UCH a clatter you never heard in 
your life! It was a wonderful 
morning in the woods, and the 
sun tried to peep through the 
branches of the trees to see what 
it was all about. The leaves were 
fairly trembling with excite- 
ment, and the breeze hovered 
it could carry the news to the 
world outside of the forest, for the breeze, 
you know, does carry tales, and you must be 
very careful what you say when the wind is 
blowing. Butterflies fluttered at a safe dis- 
tance and insects hummed and zizzed z-z-z — 
with the funny little sounds they make. They 
too, kept out of the line of vision of that 
noisy group. It is all right to be curious, but 
one must be cautious as well. 



2 THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 


What was the matter? Well, you see, a 
great convention of birds had been called 
from all over the world — big birds, little 
birds, fat birds and thin birds, beautiful birds 
and freak birds — and they were all trying to 
talk to each other in a clamorous way that 
sounded quite like a meeting of human be- 
ings. Why had they been called together? 
Ah! That is a secret that you will know in 
just about a minute. Have a little patience. 
There were birds of the marsh and birds of 
the moor, birds of the trees and birds that 
lived on high, bleak cliffs. There were Her- 
ons, and Pigeons, Canaries and Owls, Sea 
Gulls and Hawks. The Eagle sat majestic- 
ally upon the branch of a tree, now and then 
screaming to let the rest know that he was 
the King of the Birds. The Ostrich walked 
about awkwardly, Vultures hovered over the 
tree tops, while a stately Ibis from Egypt 
looked on half disdainfully at the clamor. 
There was even a Giant Auk from the far, far 
Northland, and he certainly was an odd look- 
ing fellow, although of course no one told 


THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 3 


him so. Blue jays were calling out their opin- 
ions as though they thought their voices 
were musical, and the Crows kept crying 
Caw ! Caw ! until it was really deafening. 

I suppose there would have been a Dodo 
Bird if there had been such a bird, but they 
say they do not exist, and of course if there 
is no such bird, one could not expect him to 
come to a Convention, and that sounds rea- 
sonable, does it not? 

“Order! Order!” tapped the Woodpecker, 
knocking with his beak against a tree until 
one would think his red head would have 
ached. 

“You can never be heard in this din,” said 
the Screech Owl. “I’ll stop them,” and he 
gave forth a blood-curdling shriek that 
brought quiet for the moment. 

“This Convention must be called to order 
if we are to accomplish anything,” said the 
Great Horned Owl, who looked fierce and 
wise. There is a lot in looks you know. 

“I think I ought to preside, as I am the 
symbol of wisdom,” said the Great Gray 


4 THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 


Owl, with a conceited air, whereupon arose a 
louder clatter than ever, and the Screech Owl 
had to give another wail to restore quiet 
again, because so many birds desired to pre- 
side over the meeting, and each one was try- 
ing to set forth his particular qualifications. 

“Now see here,” said the Ostrich, “you can- 
not all be leaders. I will drive everyone 
away and dismiss the whole matter if we do 
not begin to do something very soon.” 

“Right you are,” chimed in the Giant Auk. 
“I have come a long way to be present, and I 
will have to return soon in order to get home 
a couple of months from now, so let us get to 
business. Why are we here?” 

“If you have come from the far North, I 
have come from the Southland,” said the 
stately Ibis, in disgust. “In my land there is 
peace and quiet by the lovely Nile, where the 
perfume of the Lotus flower lulls us to sleep. 
All this vulgar confusion really gets upon my 
nerves.” 

The smaller birds quieted down, because, 
although they say the Ostrich is a stupid fel- 


THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 5 


low and sticks his head into the sand when 
trouble comes, thinking nobody can see him 
because he cannot see anybody — well, his 
size is impressive, so that, backed up by the 
Giant Auk and the dignified Ibis, he had his 
influence. 

“The Eagle is King of the Air and he 
should lead the meeting,” said a Sea Gull. 
“Personally, I am more interested in the 
water than either the land or the air.” 

“Well, you could not get along without 
either,” piped up the Sandpiper. 

“Thank you for the compliment,” said the 
Eagle, nodding to the Sea Gull,” but I prefer 
to look on. To lead the meeting would really 
bore me.” 

The Great Gray Owl was not to be downed. 
He was ambitious. “Minerva chose the Owl 
as the symbol of wisdom,” he said, and he 
was backed up by the whole Owl family — 
the Hoot Owl, the Screech Owl and all the 
rest of the tribe, for blood is thicker than 
water, and families may disagree, but when 
it comes to a matter like this, they all stick 


6 THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 


together. 

“As a matter of fact — artistically,” said 
the Peacock, “I am more fitted to preside 
than anyone else. I would spread my tail 
and make an impressive and beautiful pic- 
ture that would lend tone and charm to this 
Convention.” 

“This is not a matter of Art. It is a mat- 
ter of sense,” said the Flamingo, jealously, 
for the Flamingo was somewhat proud of his 
own brilliant feathers. 

“Well the Owl has a reputation for wis- 
dom, but I could tell you a thing or two that 
would make you realize that he is a most 
stupid creature,” said the Magpie to his 
neighbor. The Magpie is a great gossip you 
know. 

Rap! Rap! tapped the Woodpecker. 

Screech! Screech! shrieked the Screech 
Owl and the meeting came to order. That 
was all there was to it. The Owl family 
seemed to absorb everything, and so the 
Great Gray Owl presided. 

He began with an air of great importance. 


THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 7 


“We, the inhabitants of the air, have been 
called together to discuss a great problem.” 

Just then the Bobolink, the Thrush, the 
Canary, the Linnet, the Lark and the Mock- 
ing Bird all began to sing at one and the 
same time. 

Rap! Rap! tapped the Woodpecker. 

“Why all this noise?” shouted the Great 
Gray Owl, angrily. 

“Noise!” answered the Thrush. “He calls 
our lovely singing a noise. Evidently he has 
no ear for music.” 

“We thought we were to open this Con- 
vention with music, of course,” said the Bob- 
olink. 

“Noise,” chirped the Canary, in a huff. “I 
like the way he speaks of our voices ! Why, 
people pay money to put me in a cage just to 
hear me sing.” 

“Pretty Poll! Pretty Poll! Ha! Ha! Ha!” 
said the Parrot, who thought it was about 
time he ought to be heard from. 

“I know the Owl cannot see in the daylight 
(although he makes believe he can with his 


8 THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 


big old eyes) but I thought he could hear,” 
said the Wren to his mate, “and that singing 
was delightful.” 

“Order!” cried the Great Gray Owl, who 
was anxious to finish his speech, which he 
thought was really a good one. 

Tap! Tap! Tap! pecked the Woodpecker. 

“Hurry up, let us be quiet and let him fin- 
ish that speech,” whispered the Swan. “I 
know it is a long one and I feel so awkward 
on land that I want to get back to the cool 
waters of my dear Lake.” 

“We have been called together,” began the 
Great Gray Owl again. 

“He said that before,” said the Chimney 
Swallow. 

“Do be still and let him finish,” piped the 
Sparrow, “or he will never be through.” 

“I wager someone wrote that speech for 
him,” said the Bittern, sarcastically, in a 
voice that squeaked like an old fashioned 
pump. Nobody would have paid any atten- 
tion to the Bittern, if it had not been for his 
funny voice, so there are really different 


THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 9 


ways of calling attention to one’s self and 
getting the notice of the public. 

The Great Gray Owl lifted his head pomp- 
ously. 

“We have been called together,” he be- 
gan again, “to defend our homes, our air 
world, against invading Man.” 

“Bravo! Bravo!” cried the Parrot. 

“Caw! Caw!” said the Crow. And all the 
Singing Birds began to sing and whistle with 
approval, until the Woodpecker had to rap 
for order again. 

“Man has long dominated the Earth,” con- 
tinued the Great Gray Owl, “and now he in- 
sults us by trying to imitate our ways — to 
fly — think of it fellow birds — great awkward 
man tries to fly.” 

“He does fly,” said the Albatross, “even 
far over the Sea.” 

“Yes ! Yes !” said the Sea Gull. “We have 
seen him.” 

“I believe in stopping him,” chimed in the 
Heron, “but how?” 

Strange to say, at this juncture a great 


10 THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 


whirring noise was heard over head. 

“Another Bird is coming,” cried the Ori- 
ole, who had been flying about. 

“Keep quiet. It is a Bird Man. One of 
those flyers in his machine. We may catch 
him,” quacked the Duck. 

“Yes,” said the Hen. 

“What have you two to say about the mat- 
ter?” questioned the Yellow-billed Cuckoo. 
“You belong on the ground. You are not 
Air people.” 

“Well, we do not lay our eggs in other 
bird’s nests,” snapped the Hen viciously. 

“Neither do I,” replied the Cuckoo. “I 
have a nice large nest lined with leaves. It 
is my cousin, the European Cuckoo, who does 
that. I cannot be responsible for my thiev- 
ing relations.” 

“Look! Look!” chattered the Paroquet. 

“He is falling! He is falling!” sang out the 
Cardinal. 

And sure enough as they gazed upward, 
the big machine that was circling about in 
the sky dipped and fell crashing into the top 


THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 11 


of a tall tree nearby, and the birds scattered 
in all directions. When they saw that the 
Airship was fast and the Aviator unhurt, 
they began to chatter loudly. It is easy to 
be brave when one has one’s enemy at his 
mercy. 

“For goodness sakes,” said the Birdman. 
“What’s all this about?” as the birds flew all 
around him trying to peck out his eyes. “Let 
me get down, will you?” 

“Oh, he wants to get down to earth!” 
mocked the Mocking Bird. 

“I thought you liked the air,” sneered the 
Goldfinch. 

“Let him come down here,” boasted the 
Ostrich. “I cannot fly very high, but I want 
to get my work in, and I can kick.” 

“Give a fellow fair play,” said the Bird- 
man, climbing down amidst the noisy crowd. 
“What have I done?” 

“Let the meeting come to order,” said the 
Great Gray Owl. “Birdman stand forth.” 

“See here, I protest against being repri- 
manded by an Owl. He cannot even see me, 


12 THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 


for you know he is blind by daylight.” 

“Well, the Owl family can hear in the day- 
light and will not stand slanders,” screeched 
the Screech Owl. 

“They can talk, too, it seems. That Owl 
family is too numerous around here for my 
liking,” said the Pelican, gulping down a fish 
he had been carrying in his big bill pouch. 

“I always liked birds,” said the Birdman, 
“and cannot understand why you all seem 
so set against me. In what way have I dis- 
pleased you?” 

“Do not ask me,” said the Great Blue Her- 
on. “I came because I was invited. I have 
no objection to men; in fact, I have posed for 
hours to be sketched. I am sure you have 
seen my pictures on Japanese Vases and 
Screens.” 

The Birdman looked about him anxiously. 
“Oh there is the Bluebird! We love the Blue- 
bird. Surely, pretty Bird, you will intercede 
for me?” 

The Bluebird looked downcast. “I am 
sorry you are unhappy,” he replied, “because 


THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 13 


I stand for happiness, but you see when birds 
call for aid and counsel, why, of course, one 
must obey.” 

“There is the Snowbird,” continued the 
Birdman, looking around. “He lingers to 
cheer us in the Autumn when the other birds 
have flown South, and the little Chickadee, 
who builds his nest of moss and feathers so 
close to the ground, and whose cheery little 
note is so loved by man — are you all against 
me?” 

“Let us get to business and not talk senti- 
ment and bosh,” said the Great Gray Owl. 
“Who is the first complainant?” 

“As to that,” said the Kite, “I might as well 
begin. Heretofore man remained upon the 
Earth in his proper place, where he tilled the 
soil and built houses as he saw fit, but not 
content with that, he has gone — first — down 
into the Sea as a Diver, and then in queer 
monster ships — ” 

“Yes,” interrupted the Kingfisher, “the fish 
are all complaining bitterly.” 

“Hold on,” said the Birdman. I do not 


14 THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 


think, Mr. Kingfisher, that the fish have any 
love for you. You are quite fond of fish for 
your meals.” 

“Impertinence!” snapped the Fish Hawk, 
whom the cap fit quite as well as it did his 
friend, the Kingfisher, as many an unwary 
fish could tell, if he had only lived to repeat 
the tale. 

“Silence,” commanded the Great Gray 
Owl. 

Rap! Rap! tapped the Woodpecker, who 
had made himself into a sort of human gavel 
to keep the meeting quiet. 

“We are not talking of the Sea,” said the 
Great Gray Owl. “Let the fishes take care 
of their own domain.” You are all out of or- 
der. Let us stick to the business of the meet- 
ing.” 

“I have not finished my complaint,” said 
the Kite. “Not only has man invaded the 
Sea, but the Air, and he tries to imitate me 
in that great awkward machine of his. Be- 
hold!” and the Fork-tailed Kite swept up in- 
to the air with exquisite grace, to give an 


THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 15 


exhibition that would put to shame the Bird- 
man. He swooped and circled, dashing 
hither and thither, swaying, twisting, and 
turning in a series of marvelous evolutions. 

“Oh, as to that, he may be imitating me,” 
cried the Vulture, in a jealous mood, and he 
swept up into Heaven’s blue. 

“Well, I do not know,” said the Wood- 
stork, “but he may have taken a few lessons 
from me,” and he flew high, doing all sorts of 
spirals and dives that made the Birds and 
even the Birdman gasp in wonder and admir- 
ation. 

The Eagle deigned to say something at this 
moment, and to unbend from his majestic 
attitude. “My work may not be of such a 
freakish nature,” he said, scornfully, “but as 
I am the emblem of Freedom, I demand a lit- 
tle notice,” and he soared away out of sight, 
coming back in an incredibly short space of 
time. 

“Then that is your grievance — that I can 
fly?” ventured the Birdman. 

A Snow-white Heron came sadly forward. 


16 THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 


“We have other grievances against Man,” he 
said, mournfully. “Down in the Southland 
where my beloved Mate died, my babies were 
left crying, helpless for their Mother. Cruel 
men tore away the Aigrette from her breast 
and left her bleeding. By the thousands we 
have died to decorate the hat of the female 
Birdmen, if that is what you call them.” 

“I have a word here,” said the Ostrich. 
They cannot kill me because I am tough, but 
they do rob me of my feathers, and what 
Bird likes to go about without his feathers?” 

The Bird of Paradise shone gorgeously 
brilliant in a ray of sunlight that filtered 
through the trees. 

“They envy me,” he said. “And I, too, lose 
my plumage.” 

“Wait! Wait! Do not blame me for that,” 
pleaded the prisoner. “I am a member of the 
Audubon Society, and I protect birds. Of 
course, as to the ladies — well, it would not be 
very polite for me to criticise them.” 

“You certainly do not protect me on 
Thanksgiving Day,” said the Turkey, gob- 


THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 17 


bling so furiously that his neck grew as red 
as the feathers of a scarlet Tanager that sat 
on a branch above his head. 

“Nor me, when you go hunting,” quacked 
the Wild Duck. 

“Nor me, either,” whistled the Quail. 

“Do pardon me,” interrupted the Birdman, 
“one must eat. Do you not all eat insects? 
Some of you eat mice,” and he gave a side 
glance in the direction of the Owl family. 
“Why, see, there is that pretty Robin Red 
Breast right now with a fat worm.” Sure 
enough, Robin Red Breast, growing hungry, 
was trying to pull a reluctant worm out of 
the ground, and he was so embarrassed when 
everybody looked at him that he let it go and 
it snapped back like a piece of rubber. 

“Man is a murderer,” croaked the Raven. 

“Indeed he is,” cawed the Crow. 

“Why you old Hypocrites,” cried the Bird- 
man, angry, in his turn. “You live on dead 
meat — you and the Vultures. Some of your 
relatives are famous or infamous. There 
were those three Crows that sat on a tree, 


18 THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 


and I'll wager that you, old Raven there, are 
the very old Demon that croaked “Never 
More” above the Poet’s door.” 

“Speaking of Poets,” said the Heron, who 
was so busy admiring himself, that he didn’t 
care much about the proceedings, “they ad- 
mire me, and Longfellow wrote about me, 
and Lowell did, too. How did you like these 
verses about me?” he added, quoting: 

‘Sing of the Air and the wild delight, 

Of Wings that uplift and wings that uphold 
you-’ 

“Well, as to poetry,” sang the Nightingale, 
“I am so poetical that I have to sing when I 
speak. All of the really great Poets write 
Odes to me.” 

“More Poets have gained inspiration from 
my note and written verses to me than to any 
other warbler,” said the Bobolink. 

“I am not so sure of that,” put in the Sky- 
lark. “I have inspired some poetry myself.” 

“Order!” cried the Great Gray Owl. 

Rap! Rap! tapped the Woodpecker. 

“Now, either condemn me or set me free,” 


THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 19 


said the Birdman, “I am growing tired of all 
this nonsense. So you are angry because I 
fly?” 

“Yes,” said the Meadowlark. “You have 
taken our wings for models and have invent- 
ed something strong enough to resist pres- 
sure, but light enough to shed air.” 

“Dear me,” replied the Birdman, “you 
ought to be flattered that man, the greatest 
of all creatures, goes to the Bird for a 
Model.” 

“Let him stay on the ground,” said the Bit- 
tern, in his squeaky voice. 

“This is not a fair trial, anyhow,” said the 
Birdman. “Why, you even have Domestic 
Fowls, who are not high flyers at all.” 

“Enough! Enough!” said the Great Gray 
Owl. “Let us make an example of this Bird- 
man. What shall we do with him?” 

“Pick out his eyes,” said the Crow. “He 
is always scaring me away from the Corn, 
my legitimate food. That is, his friend, the 


20 THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 


farmer, does.” 

“I do wish we would hurry,” said the 
Stormy Petrel. “I must hurry back to Sea 
before Mother Carey calls her chickens. This 
really does not interest me, as I never get 
very far above the waves.” 

“Well, it does me,” said the Sparrow. “Bad 
boys stone me sometimes, and they will grow 
up to be Birdmen. Let us stone him.” 

“I agree with my Cousin Crow,” chimed in 
the Raven. “We will pick out his eyes.” 

“That seems very harsh,” put in the Chim- 
ney Swallow. “I live in the Chimney and I 
am rather fond of man myself. Suppose we 
let this fellow go?” 

“Yes,” said the Bluebird, “I am in favor of 
that.” 

“So are we,” said some of the Singing 
Birds, relenting. 

“Mercy! Mercy! for the Birdman,” cooed 
the Dove. 

“This is all mushy nonsense,” cried the 


THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 21 


Great Gray Owl. “We must make an exam- 
ple of this man, or Birds will never more have 
any rights in the Air.” 

“Oh, but they will,” cried the Birdman. “I 
will see to it myself. I tell you, frankly, that 
man is really fond of Birds, and the Heavens 
are so big and wide, there surely is room for 
all of us.” 

“Do not listen to him,” put in the Crow, 
who is as black as he is painted. “Stand up 
for your rights. Come out from under Man’s 
Yoke. The Air is ours,” which really was 
quite an eloquent speech for a Crow. 

Thereupon ensued such a furious clatter, 
whistling, singing, cawing, crowing, with 
protests for and against, that the Birdman, 
who was really a very brave fellow, but who 
naturally wanted to save his eyes, fell down 
prone upon his face and commenced to kick 
to scare the Birds away. 

“Worse and more of it,” said the Ostrich, 
who had happened to hear a whirring noise. 
“Look! Look! Here conies another Birdman 


22 THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 


in a Machine. He is landing in a field.” 

‘There are two of them,” called out the 
Oriole, “and they have a gun in the airship.” 

“It may be well to get away while we can,” 
said the Great Gray Owl. “Those guns would 
blow us all to pieces. I shall dismiss the 
Meeting.” The Great Gray Owl not being 
able to see very plainly in the daylight 
thought that discretion was the better part 
of valor and began to hurry away, followed 
by all the Owl family. 

“I will perch upon a tree until you all get 
away, as I am the King of Birds, and the em- 
blem of Freedom, so they will never shoot at 
me,” said the Eagle, patronizingly, for the 
Eagle was not a Coward, to say the least. 

With a whiz and a whir, as of many wings, 
and a scurrying of feet, away went the Bird 
Tribe. 

“Why, there is a machine in a tree,” said 
one of the newcomers. “Someone has had 
an accident.” 


THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 23 


“Let us find him,” said the second Aviator, 
and they both ran into the woodland. 

“Here he is,” cried the first rescuer. “I am 
afraid he is badly hurt.” 

“No,” said the second rescuer, “he still 
lives. See how he kicks and throws his arms 
about, as though trying to ward off some- 
thing.” 

The two airmen lifted the Birdman to his 
feet. 

“The Birds! The Birds! They are angry! 
The Birds!” the, Birdman kept saying over 
and over. 

“Come! Come! old man, you are a bit 
shaken up, and you have had a marvelous es- 
cape. There are no birds here.” 

It was true, the blue sky was clear and the 
trees looked as solemn and stately as though 
no great Convention had just been held be- 
neath their branches, in which a life was at 
stake. Be that as it may, of course I do not 
know the truth of the matter, not having 


24 THE BIRDS AND THE BIRD MAN 


been there myself. However, the first Bird- 
man always insisted that he had just had a 
narrow escape when rescued, although his 
friends claimed that he was delirious from 
the fall. I do know that he has a very 
wholesome respect for the Birds and treats 
them very kindly. 

“After all,” he says, apologetically, when- 
ever he makes a flight, “the air does belong 
i j the Birds, and they are very gracious to 
let us use it.” 







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